Headhunting for Director Level Jobs
Many large companies now use headhunting firms to headhunt the best candidates for their directors and board level vacancies as there are many advantages to this type of recruitment:
How to use direct marketing techniques
All commercial organisations have an interest in maximising market awareness. With the development of the internet and search engines, it has never been easier to find a particular firm.Recruitment is a sector that has widely used web traffic and search engine optimisation as a way of building awareness and attracting new business and candidates. Historically,
Taking the first offer?
First, let’s get something straight. There’s nothing wrong with taking the first job you’re offered, as long as it’s the ‘right’ job. And what with parental pressures (“We’re not supporting you any more”, “It’s time you found your own place” etc), the burden of student debts and the desire to join your peers on the
Perks
To truly assess a job offer, you need to look at the whole package rather than just the size of the first pay cheque. Are you being offered the following perks?
Verbal CV
Before approaching potential employers direct, take time to brush up your ‘verbal CV’.Consider the time and effort that you’ve put into your written CV, detailing your skills and experience. Yet this could all go to waste if you’re asked to say something about yourself when you call a recruiter or meet them socially or at
Speculative letters
If, as is claimed, only 30% of the total number of job vacancies are advertised, your best bet could be to job-hunt more creatively. Many job-hunters resort to sending off speculative letters to relevant companies. And many employers would rather turn to their pile of speculative letters than spend thousands of pounds on advertising. The
Networking
Any job-hunter can develop a network of useful career contacts without a company director in the family. Networking is easy if you know how, and job-hunters who develop their own employment contacts need never be short of career advice and job offers. Here are five networking opportunities which everyone can take advantage of:
Cold calling
It’s reckoned that four-fifths of the job market is ‘closed’, meaning you can’t find out about available job openings unless you dig for them. So what do you do? Pick up the phone and dig. Cold calling, or uninvited job-hunting, is a proven method of finding employment. Find out for yourself by following these
The different types of tests you might encounter during job search
Assessment days Preparing for the tests you’re likely to face. Personality tests What does the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator say about you? IQ tests Tips for communicating your intelligence. Psychometric tests Feedback from employers is crucial if you want to understand your score. Faking it There’s no point in trying to outwit psychometric tests. Group tests
Seeking advice
If you had a machine in your living room that was capable of printing £50,000 or £1000,000 a year in used notes, you’d take pretty good care of it, wouldn’t you? If it needed repairing, you’d take it to a qualified, professional repairer. If you thought it could print even more money, you’d seek the
Interviews (Full info)
Be prepared Interviews can be scary experiences and the only way to quell your fears is to follow the advice of the girl guide movement and ‘be prepared’. The best place to start is by finding out as much about the company as possible. Ring the company’s marketing department and get them to send you
CV and resume lies
Nick is a teacher at an English language school in Tokyo. Nick is also deceiving his employers. On his arrival in Japan eight years ago he obtained what he expected to be a temporary job teaching English by claiming he had a degree from Oxford University. He backed up the claim with a false degree
Multimedia CVs
In today’s multimedia age, choosing the perfect format for your CV is no longer as simple as deciding between Helvetica or Palatino, double or single space type, or remembering to buy a stamp for the envelope.
The basics of CV (Resume)
It’s time to rewrite your CV. What may feel like the world’s most tedious task – puffing yourself up and bragging about your accomplishments on paper – doesn’t have to be so painful. Just remember one thing: your CV needs to stand out. Employers, especially those who have posted openings on large websites, may receive
Interpreting rejections
You went as far as you could – all the way to final interview. You researched the organisation, showed your respect by arriving on time and in the right clothes, struck up a rapport with the interviewer, and felt you had given the best impression of yourself you could.
A new you
Are you stuck in a job that really doesn’t suit you? Do you long to reinvent yourself professionally? A career overhaul can seem a daunting step but, with careful planning, you can achieve those unfulfilled ambitions
Interviews – Media – Gerard Baker
Gerard Baker is the Financial Times‘ bureau chief in Washington, where he lives with his wife and three daughters in American University Park. The combination of his exhaustive research and lucid style has given him an enviable reputation as an economic expert on both sides of the Atlantic. We caught up with him in the
Interviews – Financial – Sarah Allatt
Sarah Allatt, 22, received a first class degree in Chemistry from the University of Oxford. After doing an internship whilst still an undergraduate, she joined PricewaterhouseCoopers as a postgraduate trainee.
Writing a cover letter
The covering letter While your CV (resume) is a summary of your qualifications and achievements, your covering letter is essentially a sales pitch. The aim is to demonstrate why your skills and background are a perfect match for the advertised position. The letter should be concise, written in the same positive and vigorous
Key ways to apply for jobs
There are many ways of applying for that prized job, none perfect and most designed to make it easier for the employer. Here forum talks through how candidates can maximize their chances of success Anything that makes it easier for employers to find the perfect employee should be good news for the candidate, because each should